HARROW: NASA is gearing up for a new push in human spaceflight with the development of the Orion crew vehicle and Space Launch System. Launching humans into space allows missions to be much more flexible and detailed than a solely robotic one, but there are still times you might prefer to put a robot at risk rather than a human. That’s why NASA has been interested in humanoid robots in recent years. To get ready for the day when humans and robots will team up, the agency has awarded advanced prototype automatons to two universities to conduct research.
The robot on its way to college is known as R5 or “Valkyrie.” It stands 6 feet tall and weighs in at a hefty 290 pounds. The design is not entirely new — you might remember Valkyrie from its appearance in the DARPA Robotics Challenge in late 2013. It has an undeniable superhero aesthetic, complete with glowing NASA logo on the chest. Valkyrie was originally designed for disaster relief missions, so the designs need to be extensively tested for a future in space.
MIT and Northeastern University in Boston will be getting a Valkyrie prototype as part of the program. NASA spent months evaluating proposals from various institutions before deciding on these two. Both teams will receive a grant of $250,000 per year to fund research into how a humanoid robot would work in space. Research will cover virtual simulations of humanoid robots and physical demonstration of advanced tasks using the supplied robots.
